Dan Boeckner has never quite mastered the art of the perfect record. The mostly brilliant Wolf Parade albums were always let down by one component, whether it be production, consistency or just running out of steam. Handsome Furs, comprised of Boeckner and wife Alexei Perry, have suffered the same fate in the past, but they hit all the right notes on their third album. It’s as if taking the focus off Wolf Parade has finally made this side-project come into its own.
There’s a freedom and adventurousness associated with Handsome Furs. Their releases often come on the back of touring and travel, much in the same way The Creatures functioned as an exotic honeymoon package away from Siouxsie And The Banshees. On Sound Kapital, the duo’s travels through Burma (Myanmar) and their introduction to its against-the-odds music scene has had a profound affect on their sound and vision. The opening lyrics are ‘When I get back, when I get back home / I won’t be the same no more’, and songs such as What About Us?, Serve The People and Cheap Music serve as rousing anthems to the underdog.
It’s only when electric guitar seeps into the middle of the seventh song that you realize how much Perry’s electronic instrumentation has been pushed to the forefront compared to previous outings. Once a little tentative behind Boeckner’s striking presence, Perry now shares equal billing with her partner and drives the band to be at their most dance-floor-friendly with the pulsating pairing of What About Us? and Repatriated. It’s love and marriage, but also guts and glory.
Best Track: What About Us?
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: Crystal Castles CRYSTAL CASTLES, Under And Under BLANK DOGS
In A Word: Liberating
